Incubator



I -July 30, 1929. T. K. TIFFANY INCUBATOR Filed May 20.. 1 925 2Sheets-Sheet ,lq

INVENTOR.- Tlber l. iii/fm@ BY TOR NE ys.

INCUBATOR Filed May 20. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet ZNESSES:

any,

N N. n. m. +V r. 6 m @Y B Www -NLN Patented July 30, 1929.

UNITED STATES TOLBERT K. TIFFANY, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TOJAMES H. BELL, OF

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IN CUBATOR.

Application led May 20, 1925. Serial No. 31,511.

This invention relates to incubators, and is concerned with improvementscalculated to facilitate manipulation of the eggs for positional changeas required periodically during incubation.

More specifically stated, one object of my invention is to provide, foruse in connection with an incubator of the cabinet type, means forsupporting a comparatively large number of egg trays in compact sequenceand in multi-columnar formation; said means affording a department orsection capable of adjustment for the purpose above mentioned, as wellas a department or section which is serviceable as a nursery whereto thevtrays may be transferred for hatching of the eggs.

Another object of my invention is to enable, in an incubator with theaforesaid appointments, individual access to the differ- ,entdepartments or sections of the tray supporting structure.

Other objects and attendant advantages accruing to my invention will beapparent from t-he detailed description hereinafter of a typicalembodiment as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Fig. I is a view, partly in fro-nt elevation and partly in longitudinalsection, of the incubator.

Fig. II is a cross section on a larger scale of the organization, takenapproximately as indicated by the arrows II-II in Fig. I, and with theegg-trays in horizontal position.

Fig. III is a partial front elevation of the tray supporting structure;and,

Fig. IV, is a fragmentary perspective illustration showing the meanswhereby an ordinary egg tray is adapted for use in the nursery sectionof the tray supporting structure.

With reference to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the housing ofthe incubator, the sameA affording an elongated incubating chamber 2capable of accommodating, side by side, a number (in this instance two)of egg-tray-supporting racks each comprehensively designated 3. Freshair enters the incubator 1 at opposite ends through grated openings 4that communicate with ducts 5 extending laterally into the hollow base 6of the structure and in turn communicating, through ports 7, with thehollow end walls 8 at their bottoms. As shown, these walls 8 are eachlsubdivided interiorly by an intermediate partition 9, into separatevertical branches 10 and 11, the air passing upward in the branch 10,over the top of the partition 9, then downward in the branch 11 andfinding its way into the incubating chamber 2-at the bottom-through anopening 12. Concurrent with upward travel in the branches l0 in oppositeend walls 8, the air is heated by contact with coil banks 13 therein,said banks being connected between flow and return mains 14, 15extending respectively across the top of the structure and through thehollow base 6. After coursing horizontally through the chamber 2 fromthe ends thereof, the two opposed air streams make their exit by way ofa centrally-located flue 16 whereof the lower portion 17 is coextensivein width with said chamber, while the upper portion is in the form of apipe 18 which leads to the exterior through the roof of the incubatorenclosure 1, entry of air into the flue 16 being via bottom openings 19,19 at opposite sides thereof. An auxiliary bank 20 of heating coils inthe lower portion 17 of the Hue 16 serve to induce upward draft in thepipe 18, and thereby stimulate circulation of air through the chamber 2as explained. This circulation is however subject to automaticgovernance by thermostats 21 which are located within the chamber 2 andactuate dampers 22, 23 arranged to cooperate respectively with exhaustoutlets 24, 25 extending through the roof of the structure, the outlets24 leading directly from the chamber, and the outlets 25 from the airliow passages 10, 11 in the end walls 8. As a result of thisarrangement, in the event of a temperature rise in the chamber 2 beyonda predetermined degree due, for example, to animal heat given olf by theeggs during the latter stages of incubation, the exhaust openings 24, 25will be uncovered to a greater or lesser extent to compensatively vent aportion of the heated air as required. The auxiliary coil bank 20 isconnected in parallel with the main heating coil banks 13 across theflow and return mains 14, 15; and each of the several coils thusreceives its proper apportionment of the flow of heating medium forwhich I prefer to employ hot water in the present instance. The featuresthus far described form the subject matter of a copending applicationunder Serial Number' 31,51() filed by me simultaneously herewith, andhave been referred to with a view only toward facilitating a generalunderstanding of the disclosures which tollow.

Referring now to the egg tray racks 3, it will be best observed fromFig. I that these are exact counterparts of one another, andaccordingly, in order to avoid the in convenience of repetitivedescription, reterence to them will, ior the time being, be made in thesingular. As shown, each rack 3 comprises a lower or subsection 30 fornursery trays, and a superposed upper` section 3l for incubating trays.vThe subsection 30 -as best shown in Fig. III embodies a rigid frameconstructed wholly from structural angles with upper and lowerhorizontals 32, corner verticale 33, and intermediate central uprights34, the back and sides et' the trame being enclosed by screening 35, seeFig. II. To the corner verticals 33 and the central nprights 34 aresecured laterally-extending slide rails 3G which are coordinated inpairs to support the egg trays indicated at 37, in. the double-columnararrangement illustrated. The trays 37 are ot the typical varietyordinarily employed during incubation; but in order to adapt them foruse as nursery traysin the nursery section 30, I provide detachablesupplemental front boards 33 to close up the necessary head spaces whichmust be provided for the newly-hatched chicks. 'Ihe supplemental boards38 are equipped with clips 39 designed to engage over the top edges ofthe front walls 40 of the trays 37 in a manner obvious fromFig. IV, andalso with tinger knobs 4l-Fig. III-for convenience in withdrawing thetrays.

The upper section 3l of the tray rack 3 embodies a vertical centralmember 42 fashioned torectangular configuration (see Fig. II)preerablylfr'om flat bar metal, and spaced parallel end members 43.Extend ing between the central member 42 and the spaced end members 43,respectively, are pivotally-connected 'cross members 44 upon which aresecured slide rails 45 that extend laterally ot the rack 3 and cooperatein pairs to support a double column ot the egg trays 37, the arrangementand grouping thus being the same as in the nursery section 30. The upperrack section 3l sustained by brackets 46 extending from the front andrear ends oi the subsection 30, said brackets affording clevices 47 'attheir upper ends for horizontal pins 48 that serve as ul'crum bearings'centrally beneath the lowermost pair of cross members 44 of the twoadjacent vertical series. By such an arrangement, it "will be apparentthat the upper rack section 3l may be adjusted through relativelon'gitudinal` 'shiftingrbetvveen its verticals 42, 43, and the trays 37thus transposed from the horizontal position, of Figs. II and III toangular positions either in one direction or the other as shown in Fig.I so that the yolks ot' the eggs are positionally shifted as requiredfrom time to time during the process oi incubation.. As a means tostabilize the movement of the upper section 3l of the tray rack duringadjustment, I utilize a pair oi fixed spaced rods 50 vthat extend tromtop to bottom of the incubating cli-amber 2. The rods 50 serveas guidesfor the intermediate vertical rectangular members 42 oi the section 3l,the upper and lower horizontals of said section having correspondinglyspaced aligned apertures 'for accommodating the rods with suiiicientclearance to insure tree movement. The mechanism employed to adjust therack section 3l includes a screw 5l which is atlizied to lthe lower endof one of the vertical members, preferably centrally of the intermediatemember 42 as shown. This screw 5l is engaged by an axially-threaded nutor collar 52 which is positionally fixed and supported for rotation in abracket 53 secured to the top ot' the subsection 30 of the rack 3. T hecollar 52 is circumi'erentially toothed to function as a. worm wheel'for meshing engagement with a drive worm 54 fast on an actuating shaft55 having journal support jointly in the bracket 53 and a cooperatingbearing 56, the latter also mounted on the top oi' the subsection 30.From Figs. I and II it will be noted that the actuating shafts 55 of thetwo tray racks 3 extend to the eX- terior ot' the incubator housingthrough its 100 front wall, the squared outer ends 57 of said shaftsbeing accessible in counter-bores 58 so as to permit ot engagement by adetachable operating handle such as shown at 59.

In order that the two tray racks 3 may be individually accessible, theincubator housing l is equipped at the front with two groups oiclosures, each such group composed of double upper doors 60 swingable110 outward about vertical hinges 6l, and a lower door G2 swingableupward on horizontal hinges G3. The upper doors G0, permit accessseparately to the upper section 3l .oit the tray rack 3; and said doorsare glazed 115 as conventionally illustrated, lenabling observation otthe eggs from time to time during the incubating period withoutnecessitating their exposure to the chilling influence oi" outsideatmosphere. The lower 120 door G2 in a like manner permits accessseparately to the subsection 30 of the tray rack 3, said door beingpreferably made solid and opaque to exclude excessive light during thehatching phase of the incubating 125 period. y

Having thus described my invention, I claim: I

l. rack for incubators comprising a K vvertical Central member, spacedparallel end 130 members, a series of pivotally connectedtray-supporting cross members, fulcrum supports extending centrallybeneath the lowermost of each series of cross members, and spaced rodsto guide the central member to longitudinal movement, whereby the rackas a whole ma be adjusted so that the trays .of the two columns may beshifted to different complemental angular positions.

2. A tray rack for incubators comprising a central and parallel verticalmembers in spaced relation, pivotally-connected cross members extendingrtransversely between the several vertical members to support amultiplicity of egg trays in multi-columnar formation, fulcrum supportscentrally beneath the lowermost cross members of each series of crossmembers, and spaced rods to stabilize the central member duringlongitudinal movement; in combination with means enabling adjustment ofthe rack including a screw on one of the vertical members, a.positionally fixed nut cooperating with the screw, and connectionswhereby the nut may be rota-ted from the exterior of the incubator'.

3. In an incubator the combination of racks comprising stationarynursery sections and .relatively movable incubating sections supportedthereover by fulcrum bearings on the nursery sections, said incubatingsections embodying pivotal tray supports adapted for simultaneousmovement in columnar' series.

4. A tray rack for incubators comprising a lower section for nurserytrays, said section including rigid fulcrum-bearings for columnar tiersof egg-tray supporting inembers, and means adapted to slidably roc-k therespective columnar tiers of egg-tray supporting members on the bearingsaforesaid, for the purpose specified.

5. A tray rack for incubators comprising a lower rigid section fornursery trays, said section including stationary clevisbearingjs forcolumnar tiers of pivotal egg-tray supporting members, and mechanismactuable to slidably rock the respect-ive columnar tiers .of egg-traysupporting members on the devis-bearings to effect their reverseinclination with respect to the horizontal.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Trenton, NewJersey, this fourteenth day of May, A. I). 1925.

TOLBERT K. TIFFANY.

